Apparatus for separating and collecting particles of one substance suspended in another substance.



A. G. WRIGHT.

APPARATUS FOR SBPARATING AND GOLLEGTING PARTICLES OF ONE SUBSTANCESUSPENDED IN ANOTHER SUBSTANCE.

APPLIQATIQN FILED OUT. 24, 1911.

1,03%,668. Patented A g- 6, 1912.

41.9 E g R a 'Z Y g-A a. f

1h V1211 Ell U TED. srrn ALLEN CH'EEVER WEIGHT, 015 BERKELEY;CALIFORNIA.

. APPARATUS FOR SEPARATING- A' ND COLLECTING- PARTICLES. OF ONE'SUBSTANCE SUSPENDED IN ANQTH-ER SUBSTANCE.

Specification of Letters- Patent.

Patented na e, iota.

Application filed October 244, 1911. Serial No. 656,521}.

WRIGHT, a citizen of the United States, re-

siding at Berkeley, in the county of Alameda and State of California,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus forSeparating and Collecting Particles of One Substance Suspended inAnother Substance, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus for use in the art of separatingmechanical mixtures, or. mixtures of liquids and solids; andparticularlyto that type of treating device in which. the mixture issubjected to the action of an electric field between charged electrodes.

My invention consists in novel features of construction, arrangement andcombination of an apparatus or treater of this type, which I shallhereinafter fully describe, said features having for their generalobject a more etlicient separation with less expenditure of electricalenergy.v Their special objects, and the manner in which these are attained will be fully understood from the following description, and byreference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a verticalsectional View of my apparatus. Fig. 2 is a cross section on line a2ccof Fig. 1.

1 is the shell which is best formed of a pipe of circular section. Tothe base of the shell is secured thefoot plate 2, which rests uponfriction wheels 3, one or both of which being driven, impart rotationtosaid shell.

These means for rotating the shell are i merely illustrative; anysuitable means may be employed.

4 are ribs on the inner surface of the shell. These are best arranged ina helical course as seen in Fig. 1. They are separatedfromeach other byequal spaces, as in Fig. 2, and

in practice are best formed upon a lining sheet. 5-. which fits snuglythe inner surface of the shell. 7

6 is the inlet pipe forlthe mixture to be treated, said pipe leadinginto the shell through its foot plate 2. 7, are outlet pipes,

seated radially in the head plate 8 of the shell,. and adapted todischarge the lighter of the two components. of the mixture from the.central region thereof. 9 are outlet pipes from the peripheral region ofthe mixture. These latter pipes are secured in the foot plate 2 andthence extend downward and are inclined centrally to and fitted intowhat may be termed a dual head 10 to which the inlet pipe 6 is alsofitted. The dual head 10 is rotatably fitted upon a non-rotatable pipe11 with the upper end of which the outlet pipes 9 communicate. The lowerend of the pipe 11 communicates with a dis charge pipe 11, which iscarried upward and has its: outlet at a point where the columns of thecomponents of the liquid under treatment balance each other. Through thepipe 11 rises the feed pipe 6', which enters and discharges into theinlet pipe 6.

The shell 1 constitutes the outer electrode. The inner electrode isdesignated by 12. It is an air tight hollow metal cone with a centrallongitudinal channel 13. The cone is inverted and its base for adistance is cylindrical so that when said cone is in the axis of theshell 1, the surface of the cone,

due to the rotation of the shell and to the vortex formed in the liquidcontained in said shell, which vortex is governed in size by the speedof rotation, the said inner electrode automatically assumes-andmaintains a position directly in the axis of rotation,

- so that it is self centering.

In order to hold the buoyant inner electrode down and to maintain. itscorrect elevation, there is a metal rod 14 which is secured to and isinsulated from the head plate .8 of the shell 1 by a lass or other in-:sulating tube 15, said r passing freely @down into the central channel13' of the in- 'fner electrode, and having its lower end arranged toreceive the contact of the lower end of said electrode. The upper end ofithe rod 14 is in electrical contact with a nonrotatable extension rod16. Contact springs 17 secured to the rod- 14 are adapted to bear uponthe upper end of the inner electrode, and thus effect electricalconnection. 'The shell 1, which is the outer electrode, is elec-' low,and is also connected b the wire 19 and brush 19 to one of the ighpotential terminals of the step-u transformer T. The other high potentiaterminal of the transformer is electrically connected to the innerelectrode 12 by a wire 20 to the extension rod 16. The low potentialterminals of the transformer are connected in any suitable manner withthe source of electricity, as, for example, -through the inductivereactance at R. l

21 is a suitable vessel to receive the lighter component of the mixturefrom the outlet pipes 7.

22 are bearing ides for the shell 1.

For the sake 0 convenience, I'shall describe the use of the apparatus inconnection with the separation and removal of water articles from crudepetroleum, but it is to e understood that I do not limit my claims tothis use, nor to this particular case. In an emulsion of water in oil,such as is found in much of the crude petroleum as it comes from thewells, the drops of water vary greatly in size from those easily visibleto the naked eye to a'minuteness lying at the extreme range of vision ofthe most powerful microsco e. The older processes of settling, centriging and distillation, were not, for one reason or another, verysatisfactory, but the later improve mentof subjecting the emulsion tothe action of a powerful electric field, was and is found to be quiteefficient in de-emulsifying the mixture, and causing the water drops tocoalese and agglomerate into larger masses which may then be separatedout and removed. I

In my present apparatus, I still retain the advantages of the electrictreatment, but I supplement it with other beneficial features, which onthe whole result in even more efficient separation with a lessexpenditure of electrical energy. The apparatus is given a rotaryvelocity, say, for example, 300 to 500 revolutions per minute. Themixture enters through the pipe 6. Some of the particles of water, whichare large enough, are thrown out by the centrifugal act-ion prior toentering the electrical field which is maintained between the twoelectrodes, but when the mixture enters said field, the agglomeration ofthe water particles takes place under the electrostatic influence, up tothe moment when the difference in gravity of the suspended particles,aided by the centrifugal action is sufiicient to overcome the viscoscityof the oil. Then the water particles so separated out and agglomeratedwill be thrown out to the inner wall of the shell 1 and will flow downto the outlet pipes 9. In this way the separation takes place by themost direct route, and with a consequent minimu'm expenditure ofelectrical energy, without interfering with the natural inclination offlow of either 1i uid, viz :upward for the oil and downwar for thewater. Centrifugal action also introduces another advantage notpossessed b the electrical treatment alone, in that it tends to throwofl with the water, such solids or other forei matter as may 'be held insuspension mde endently of the water, and which are in themselves notaffected by the electrostatic forces, thus effecting a more completeclarifying of the oil than if it were subjected to the electrostaticforces alone. It will be observed that the spacing of the two electrodesis not parallel except for a short distance'at the upper portion. Thisarrangement has the beneficial effect, due to the upward direction ofthe flow of the material between the electrodes and the projectionhorizontally therefrom of the agglomerated water particles, ofincreasing the dielectric strength of the oil; and hence the electricfield between the electrodes is kept more nearly uniform.

The advantage of the automatic or selfcentering floating inner electrode12 is that under centrifugal action, it assumes and maintains the properrelation or position to the outer electrode or shell 1, without theerted by the rod 14, s iflicient to overcome its buoyancy and to keepitin its correct horizontal position.

The discharge outlets 7 of the oil, being at the top of the treater,insure the mainmum degree of separation.- It will be noted that theseoutlets are held in seats in the head plate 8 in such manner that byloosening the bolts of said plate said pipes may be slid out or iradiall By thus adjusting them, the depth 0 the vortex 'in the liquidcontaine -in the device may be governed.

The discharge outlets 9 are brought in toward the axis of revolution,for the purpose of giving an outlet for the water content of such naturethat the water upon reaching the vicinity of the axis of rotation,permits the separation and rise of any of the oil particles which mayhave accompanied said water. This separation is further increased by theinjector action of the incoming oil. This direction of said outlets isrendered possible by carrying them downward to a point below that wherethe centrifugal action is overcome by the gravity head. To stillpreserve sufficient downward pressure on the water to overcome thecentrifu al force, even in cases where, because of a decrease in speedof rotation, there is a decrease in head pressure, I provide thehelically directed ribs 4. These positively feed the water down with apres- ?ure sufiicient to overcome the "centrifugal "orce.

' ters Patent is 1..An apparatus of the described type, consisting of ashell having an inlet in its lower portionfor the mixture to be treated,an outlet from the central region of its upper portion for the lightercomponent of the mixture, and an outlet from the peripheral region ofits lower portion for the heavier component of said mixture; means forrotating said shell on its axis; a member within and spaced from theshell; and electrical connectlons adapted to constitute said shell andmember the electrodes of an electric field to which the mixture to betreated is subjected.

2. An apparatus of the described type, consisting of a shell having aninlet in 1ts lower portion for the mixture to be treated, an outlet fromthe central region of its up-. per portion for the lighter component ofthe mixture, and an outlet from the peripheral region of its lowerportion for the heavier component of said mixture, said last namedoutlet being carried downward and directed centrally below the shell;means for rotating said shell on its axis; a memberwit-hin and spacedfrom the shell; and electrical connections adapted to constitute saidshell and member the electrodes of an electric field to which themixture to be treated is subjected.

heavier component of said mixture, said last named outlet being carrieddownward and directed centrally below the shell; a helically directedrib on the inner surface of the shell to conduct said heavier componentof the mixture to said last named outlet;\ means for rotating said shellon its axis; a member within and spaced from the shell; and electricalconnections adapted to constitute'said shell and member the electrodesof an electric field to which the mixture to be treated is sub'ected.

4. An apparatus of t e described type,

. consisting of a shell; means for. rotating 'to be radially adjusted todifferent said shell; 'a member within and free of the shell, andbuoyant in the mixture under treatment, whereby 'said member is adapted,under the rotation of the shell, to assume and maintain a position in'the axis of rotation; and electrical connections adapted to constitutesaid shell and member the electrodes of an electric field to which themixture to be treated is subjected.

' .5. An apparatus of the described type,

tation; a stop secured to'the shell and acts ing upon the buoyant memberto define the limit of its rise; and electrical connections adapted toconstitute said shell and member the electrodes of an electric-field towhich the mixture to be treated is subjected.

6. An apparatus of the described type, consisting of a shell; means forrotating said shell; a member within said shell and separated therefromby a space which narrows from the lower toward the upper portion; andelectrical connections'adapted to constitute said shell and member theelectrodes of an electric field to which the liquid to be treated issubjected.

7. An apparatus of the described type, consisting of a shell having aninlet in its lower portion for the mixture to be treated an outlet fromthe peripheral region of sai lower portion for the heavier of thecomponents of the mixture, and an outlet p1 e in its upper portion forthe lighter of said components, said outlet pipe being arranged ositionsrelatively to the axis of the s ell;

means for rotating the shell; a member 7 within and spaced om the shell;and electrical connections adapted to constitute said shell and memberthe electrodes of an electric field to which the mixture to be treatedis subjected.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALLEN CHEEVER WRIGHT.

Witnesses:

WM. F. Boom,

D. B. Browns.

